During the winter, seasonal ailments like cold, cough, and sore throat can end up hampering your daily activities. And though medications available over the counter can provide the much-required relief, they can also make you feel drowsy and lethargic.
So, if you are looking for ideal and effective remedies to treat these common winter ailments that tend to affect many people, opt for Ayurvedic methods, advises Dr Dixa Bhavsar Savaliya, an Ayurveda expert who shares a simple Ayurvedic home remedy on social media.
Taking to her Instagram account, Dr Dixa writes that this ayurvedic herbal mixture can help you get relief from colds, cough and sore throat quickly and effectively.
She informs you that all you need is the following ingredients:
- Half tsp turmeric
- Half tsp dry ginger powder
- 1 black pepper (freshly crushed) or 2 pinches of black pepper powder
- 1 tsp pure honey
“Mix it well and have it 2-3 times/day 1 hour before/after meals.”
The expert also shares some other home remedies and useful tips that can reportedly be very helpful when dealing with a cough, cold and sore throat.
• Take 7-8 tulsi leaves or ‘holy basil,’ and boil it with a small piece of ginger, a few garlic cloves, 1 tsp of carom seeds, 1 tsp fenugreek seeds, turmeric (dry or fresh), and 4-5 black peppercorns in 1 litre of water until it is reduced to half – drink this liquid, first thing in the morning.
• Avoid cold water for a shower and for drinking.
• Drink warm water to help with digestion.
• Have some honey to soothe your throat.
• Drink tea made from ginger, turmeric, and lemon.
• Add some carom seeds, eucalyptus oil, or turmeric to boiled water for steam inhalation.
• Add turmeric to warm milk and drink it.
• To get relief from a sore throat, gargle with lukewarm water and add turmeric and rock salt to it, she suggests.
• Chew on liquorice.
• Try Ayurvedic formulations like Sitopladi Churna which is an expectorant, Trikatu Churna, and Talisadi Churna which is a decongestant along with honey.
She adds, “You also need to reduce intake of fatty foods, fried, stale and street food. Try and eat light home-cooked food. Also, perform Bhastrika, Anuloma Viloma, and Bhramri Pranayama twice every day, both in the morning and at night.”
Bhastrika, Anuloma Viloma, and Bhramri Pranayama are specific types of controlled breathing in yoga.
Since prevention is always better than cure, Dr Dixa also suggests ways you can avoid contracting a viral cold or cough in the first place, by avoiding cold aggravating factors such as cold drinks, yogurt, especially when mixed with fruits, sleeping in the daytime, or staying awake until late night.
She concludes by saying, “Keep these remedies and suggestions close as the weather changes and the winter chill creeps in. Be mindful of how much cold water you consume, and don’t forget to take care of yourself even when life gets busy.”
Various other natural herbs can also be used for the treatment of the common cold said another Ayurveda doctor in an earlier report in Lybrate, a mobile healthcare technology company in Delhi, India.
Here’s a list of some other helpful Ayurvedic herbs:
1. Bishop’s weed
Use this herb to help open blocked nasal passages. Tie the seeds inside a piece of cloth and inhale it directly. It also helps to clear congestion, informs the expert.
2. Cassia roots
Cassia roots are ideal for treating the common cold. You need to burn the roots of the herb and inhale the smoke that is emitted. Though mucus discharge supposedly increases after this treatment, it stops completely after a while.
3. Cinnamon with pepper and honey
Boil these three ingredients in water and drink it to reduce a sore throat and to also prevent a common cold from becoming chronic.
4. Cumin seeds
These tiny seeds have antiseptic properties. They are reportedly effective in the treatment of the harmful effects of the common cold in case of fever.
Cumin seeds also help to heal throat irritations.
Ayurveda expert, Vikas Chawla, Vedas Cure told The Indian Express, “Consuming turmeric powder with honey or chewing raw turmeric for minutes at different quarters of the day is one of the few ingredients that bring relief from cough and sore throat. Simultaneously, cloves and ginger, in the form of juice or tea, can cure colds and coughs soon after one starts the cure.”
